The invention relates to a device for the feeding of free-range poultry kept in coops, fattening poultry in particular, and especially broilers, with at least one feed delivery pipe held above the floor of the coop in a raisable and lowerable manner. The feed delivery pipe has a series of branch apertures, of which each is allocated to a bowl device suspended on the delivery pipe, which features a downpipe descending from the branch aperture and a feed bowl located beneath the delivery pipe. Bowl cupolas are formed from grid bard running in spoke fashion, whereby the downpipe consists of an inner cylinder departing from the branch aperture and an outer cylinder surrounding the inner cylinder, to which the feed bowl is suspended by means of the grid bars of its bowl cupola in such a way that it comes to rest when the feed delivery pipe is lowered, coming to rest in particular on the floor of the coop. The outer cylinder is guided in relation to the inner cylinder so as to be rotatable as well as capable of being raised and lowered, and is provided with at least one raising stop delimiting the raising and lowering travel.
A device of the generic type referred to is shown in EP 0 105 571 B1.
When the feed bowl of the known device comes to rest with the lowering of the feed pipe, apertures in the downpipe can be cleared. As a result of this, depending on the individual position of the apertures in relation to the feed bowl, it is possible to allocate different discharge cones and discharge heights to the feed passing via the downpipe into the feed bowl. In order, for example, to provide chicks with improved eating conditions, a higher discharge height and therefore a high feed level to the bowl is necessary, which can be achieved by clearing further apertures in the downpipe with the known device. In accordance with the growth of the chicks, the feed level in the bowl can also be set lower because growing animals can easily reach areas located lower in the feed bowls than chicks are capable of for the purpose of acquiring feed.
Devices installed in a coop should be as free of maintenance as possible. Accordingly, the most uniform refill of the feed is desired, while still remaining free of interruption, in predetermined metering volumes in each case into each individual feed bowl. With the known device, however, interruptions may arise in that feed emerges irregularly from the downpipe into the feed bowls, as a result, for example, of the corresponding outlet apertures becoming closed in the casing surface of the downpipe. This is the case in particular with feed which is prone to form bridges, for example with feed with poor sprinkle behavior.
In addition to this, the outer pipe is capable of rotating in relation to the inner pipe, as a result of which the cross-section of an additional outlet aperture in the downpipe is reduced, because an aperture in the outer cylinder is no longer congruent, or only partially, with the aperture allocated to it in the inner cylinder.
Feed bowls should be cleaned at regular intervals. This is effected by spraying with water, at least after a fattening period, before the coop is occupied by new chicks. During the spraying process, it is advantageous for the feed bowl to be capable of rotation about the longitudinal axis of the fall pipe deriving from the feed pipe, because in this situation practically all inner areas of the feed bowl run past a sharp water jet directed from one side into the feed bowl. While the possibility of the feed bowl to rotate on the inner cylinder of the downpipe is still advantageous for cleaning, it is nevertheless disadvantageous, for the reasons described heretofore, for keeping clear the additional apertures in the downpipe. A further disadvantage of the free rotation of the feed bowl lies in the fact that a predetermined distance interval between the feed bowl and the free end of the downpipe, on which the feed level desired in each case is dependent, may be unintentionally wrongly adjusted due to the rotational movement during cleaning.